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Luang Prabang Photographs

Forthcoming

Here is a slide show on YouTube with highlights from Luang Prabang and the trip to the Pak Ou caves.  Here is a downloadable file with better resolution of the slide show.

There are about a hundred photographs from Luang Prabang organized into the following albums:

Several street scenes from the old town west and east of  the Phou Si hill

 

Several shots of a town and temples in Xieng Maen district, across the Mekong from Luang Prabang.  Taken from Luang Prabang.

 

Auberge Le Ca Lao, a five room hotel in a restored 1920s colonial mansion, located across the Thanon Lim Khong road from the Mekong .  Built in the Sino-Portuguese style, occupied from 1936-68 by a French merchant.  A good base for a stay in Luang Prabang.  Also included are some shots of the street in front of the hotel and the stairs that lead down to the Mekong, which is a pretty steep climb on the way up.

 

Some shots of fields on the other side of the Nam Khan river and the back side of the old town

 

Haw Kham (Golden Hall) Museum, the royal palace built in 1904.  This site housed the Pra Bang, a golden image of Buddha, cast either in the first century AD in Sri Lanka or in the 14th century in Angkor, depending on which legend you believe in.  It is believed to have been taken to Moscow following the Pathet Lao’s victory in 1975.  The Pra Bang is the traditional symbol of Lao royal sovereignty.  It was given to Fa Ngum in the 1350’s by either his first wife’s father, the Khmer king, or the king of Sukhothai, his second wife’s father.  It was held by the Thai twice, finally returned in 1867 by king Mongkut of Thailand, Rama IV.  The gold faced religious pavilion is called the Haw Pha Bang.

 

Several shots of the Ferry landing, below the museum on the Mekong , and some common boats that ply the river

 

Wat Xieng Thong (Golden City Monastery) was built in 1560 and is regarded as the leading temple in the city.  Was one of only two temples not destroyed in 1887 by raiding Black Flag Haw Chinese; the attack led to the king to ask for French protection.  The sim, or main chapel, is considered to be the classic example of the Luang Prabang style of temple architecture.  Also pictured is a stupa.

 

Mekong river trip- showing some life along the river and houses on the banks, among the trees along with a picture of the boat I took upstream.

 

Several pictures from the Pak Ou caves and the area at the intersection of the Nam Ou and Mekong rivers, about 25 kilometers north of Luang Prabang.  The caves have been used in Buddhist ceremonies for at least 500 years and probably longer for earlier inhabitants.  Also included is a shot of a river marker, used to determine the depth of the water, and several shots of typical boats found on the river

 

Two shots crossing into Burma , from Mae Sai Thailand , in the Golden Triangle.